The Los Angeles Chargers have just made history with their latest contract extension. Derwin James has agreed to a record breaking $76.4M extension with the Los Angeles Chargers. This will average out to roughly $19M per season, and makes James the highest paid safety in NFL History.
His full contract reads $76.4M over four seasons which averages out to $19.1M a season. $42M of that $76.4M will be guaranteed, and $29M of it is guaranteed during his first year of the contract. In the first two years of the deal James will receive pretty much all of his guaranteed money. This makes it a lot easier for the Chargers to actually get out of the deal if they so please in the future.
Derwin James was the 17th overall pick out of Florida State back in the 2018 NFL Draft. Since then he has battled a few serious injuries but when he is on the field, he is one of the best defensive players in the NFL. Last season James lined up all over the field for LA. While he mainly lined up as a traditional safety, he did log over 200 snaps at LB and even on the line of scrimmage nearly 5% of his snaps.
Last season he recorded a career high 118 tackles and in forced fumbles with three. James also had two sacks and two interceptions along with five pass break ups. In his career he has racked up over 250 tackles, 5.5 sacks, five interceptions, and 19 pass break ups in 36 games.
This is just one of the many money moves the Chargers have made this offseason. They also were able to sign players like Mike Williams & Corey Linsley along with adding Khalil Mack & his contract to their defense via trade. These are the perks of finding a young stud quarterback through the draft, and having him on a rookie deal.
